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2017 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

The list of 104 titles, drawn from 145 official nominations, is presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The books, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens.

Bennett, Marek. The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby. 2016. Illus. Comics Workshop. $19.95. 9780982415351. Learn about another perspective on the Civil War from the graphic novel adaptation of a New Hampshire teacher's Civil War memoir.

Brown, Box. Tetris: the Games People Play. 2016. Illus. First Second. $19.99. 9781626723153. The story of how Tetris was first imagined, then created, and finally distributed as a game in multiple formats throughout the world.

Dini, Paul and Eduardo Risso. Dark Night: a True Batman Story. 2016. Illus. Vertigo. $22.99. 9781401241438. Walking home one evening, legendary Batman writer, Paul Dini, was jumped and viciously beaten. Through the darkest moments of his recovery, he always imagined the Batman at his side.

Geary, Rick. Black Dahlia (Treasury of XXth Century Murder). 2016. Illus. NBM. $15.99. 9781681120522. Rick Geary reconstitutes and reveals for us the life and murder of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short who had become known as the Black Dahlia.

Lee, Stan, Peter David and Colleen Doran.Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir. 2015. Illus. Touchstone/Simon and Schuster. $30.00. 9781501107726. Stan Lee tells his own story with his usual humor and bravado. Little known facts about his life and the creation of comics are explored in living color.

*Lewis, John, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. March: Book Three. 2016. Illus. Top Shelf. $19.99. 9781603094023. Congressman John Lewis chronicles the struggles and triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement from 1963 through the Voting Rights Act.

Ottaviani, Jim and Leland Purvis. The Imitation Game: Alan Turing Decoded. 2016. Illus. Abrams ComicArts. $24.95. 9781419718939. Explores the complicated life of brilliant mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing from his early childhood to his untimely death.

*+Ross, Edward. Filmish: a Graphic Journey Through Film. 2015. Illus. Self Made Hero. $24.95. 9781910593035. Ross’s cartoon alter ego guides readers through the annals of cinematic history, introducing some of the strange and fascinating concepts at work in the movies and tackles serious issues—sexuality, race, censorship, propaganda—with authority and wit.

Samanci, Özge. Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey. 2015. Illus. Farrar Straus Giroux. $16.99. 9780374316983. Growing up on the Aegean Coast, Özge loved the sea and imagined a life of adventure while her parents and society demanded predictability. In her graphic memoir, she recounts her story through inventive collages, weaving together images of the sea, politics, science, and friendship.

Wyld, Evie and Joe Sumner. Everything is Teeth. 2016. Illus. Pantheon. $24.95. 9781101870815. Evie Wyld’s deeply moving graphic memoir about family, love, loss, and the irresistible forces that, like the sharks that captivated her imagination, course through life unseen, ready to emerge at any moment.

FICTION

Aaron, Jason and Chris Bachalo. Doctor Strange, Volume 1: The Way of the Weird. 2016. Illus. Marvel Comics. $24.99. 9780785195160. Doctor Strange protects the earthly realm from mystic forces, but at what cost? Every time he uses magic, there is a price to pay and it's catching up with him.

Aguirre-Sacasa, Roberto and Robert Hack. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Book One. 2016. Illus. Archie Comics. $17.99. 9781627389877. The young sorceress Sabrina Spellman finds herself at a crossroads, having to choose between an unearthly destiny and her mortal boyfriend, Harvey. But a foe from her family's past has arrived in Greendale, and she has her own deadly agenda.

Allison, John. Bad Machinery, Volume 5: The Case of the Fire Inside. 2016. Illus. Oni Press. $19.99. 9781620102978. Sonny meets a mysterious new girl who seems to have climbed out of the sea itself, while Mildred falls for the bad boy of Saturday detention. But can either of them succeed in the face of jealous exes, overprotective fathers, and the persistent tide of destiny?

*Allison, John and Lissa Treiman.

Giant Days, Volume 1. 2015. Illus. Boom! Box. $9.99. 9781608867899.

Giant Days, Volume 2. 2016. Illus. Boom! Box. $9.99. 9781608868049.

Friends Susan, Esther, and Daisy navigate their first semester in college while balancing boys, halls, rivals, and classes.

Arawi, Keiichi. Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, Volume 1. 2016. Illus. Vertical Comics. $10.95. 9781942993308. In this surreal take on the "school genre" of manga, a group of high school friends grapple with all sorts of unexpected situations in their daily lives.

Bermejo, Lee Haynes and Khary Randolph. We Are Robin, Volume 1: The Vigilante Business. 2016. Illus. DC Comics. $14.99. 9781401259822. After the Joker has turned many of Gotham’s citizens into zombies, a group of masked teens going by the name Robins decide they can’t sit back and wait for someone to save them.

Brremaud, Frederic and Federico Bertolucci. Love the Fox. 2015. Illus. Magnetic Press. $17.99. 9781942367062. This wordless comic follow a single fox through its daily journey through the trees and along the seafront.

Bunn, Cullen and Tyler Crook. Harrow County, Volume 1: Countless Haints. 2015. Illus. Dark Horse Comics. $14.99. 9781616557805. A teenage girl discovers that her family and her town are not what they seem—but, neither is she!

*Coates, Ta-Nehisi and Brian Stelfreeze. Black Panther, Book One: A Nation Under Our Feet. 2016. Illus. Marvel Comics. $16.99. 9781302900533. When a superhuman terrorist group sparks a violent uprising, Wakanda is thrown into turmoil. Can its monarch, one in a long line of Black Panthers, survive the necessary change? Heavy lies the head that wears the cowl!

de Campi, Alex and Carla Speed McNeil.

No Mercy, Volume 1. 2015. Illus. Image Comics. $9.99. 9781632154439.

No Mercy, Volume 2. 2016. Illus. Image Comics. $14.99. 9781632156907.

A group of students on a pre-college trip to build schools in Latin America must survive a bus crash, the elements, and each other.

Doerries, Bryan. The Odyssey of Sergeant Jack Brennan. 2016. Illus. Pantheon. $19.95. 9780375715167. A U.S. Sergeant in Afghanistan recounts the story of Odysseus to his squad, highlighting the connection to modern warfare.

Doyle, Ming, James Tynion IV, and Riley Rossmo. Constantine: the Hellblazer, Volume 1: Going Down. 2016. Illus. DC Comics. $14.99. 9781401259723. The dark adventures of occult detective John Constantine continue in an all-new series as he investigates the cruelest case he’s ever come across – his own dark history!

After a losing a critical battle to the Rebel Alliance, Darth Vader searches for ways to turn the tide back to the Empire's favor.

Hanada, Ryo. Devils’ Line, Volume 1. 2016. Illus. Vertical Comics. $12.95. 9781942993377. Tsukasa, a college student, is rescued by Anzai, a half-devil who exploits his supernatural gifts as a member of a shadowy police task force that specializes in devil-related crime in Tokyo.

Hatori, Bisco. Behind the Scenes!!, Volume 1. 2016. Illus. Viz Media. $9.99. 9781421585246. Ranmaru has just started college when he stumbles upon a bloody zombie attack. Turns out it's the Art Squad Club and he's been recruited.

HERO and Daisuke Hagiwara.

Horimiya, Volume 1. 2015. Illus. Yen Press. $13.00. 9780316342032.

Horimiya, Volume 2. 2016. Illus. Yen Press. $13.00. 9780316268691.

When a liberally pierced and tattooed Miyamura unexpectantly appears on the doorstep of secretly-plain homebody Hori, they discover there are multiple sides to every story...and person.

Hicks, Faith Erin and Yishan Li. Buffy: the High School Years – Freaks & Geeks. 2016. Illus. Dark Horse. $10.99. 9781616556679. It’s not an easy task for Vampire Slayer Buffy to balance school, friends, and slaying, but thanks to her mentor Giles and her understanding friends Willow and Xander, life isn’t all work and no play.

Higashimura, Akiko. Princess Jellyfish 1. 2016. Illus. Kodansha Comics. $19.99. 9781632362285. The quiet life of an 18-year-old otaku girl living with other geeky girls in a communal Tokyo apartment is turned upside down by a beautiful non-gender conforming fashionista.

Houser, Jody and Marguerite Sauvage. Faith, Volume 1: Hollywood and Vine. 2016. Illus. Valiant. $9.99. 9781682151211. Faith has just left her superhero team, broken up with her boyfriend and is on her own for the first time.

Ishida, Sui.

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 3. 2015. Illus. Viz Media. $12.99. 9781421580388

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 6. 2016. Illus. Viz Media. $12.99. 9781421580418.

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 7. 2016. Illus. Viz Media. $11.99. 9781421580425.

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 8. 2016. Illus. Viz Media. $12.99. 9781421580432.

Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 9. 2016. Illus. Viz Media. $12.99. 9781421580449.

Human-ghoul hybrid Ken Kaneki is caught in the midst of a rapidly escalating conflict between his two worlds.

Johnson, Mike, Ryan Parrott, and Derek Charm. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. 2016. Illus. IDW. $19.99. 9781631406638. Witness the student days of the iconic cast before they joined the Enterprise, and meet an all-new group of students as they embark on bold new adventures of their own.

Kaihou, Norimitsu and Sadoru Chiba.

School-Live! Volume 1. 2015. Illus. Yen Press. $13.00. 9780316309707.

School-Live! Volume 2. 2016. Illus. Yen Press. $13.00. 9780316309882.

School-Live! Volume 3. 2016. Illus. Yen Press. $13.00. 9780316309929.

The School-Living Club strives to hang out, have fun and live – at school – without getting killed by zombies.

King, Tom and Gabriel Hernandez Walta. The Vision, Volume 1: Little Worse Than a Man. 2016. Illus. Marvel Comics. $17.99. 9780785196570. The Vision moves to the suburbs with the nuclear family he created in Ultron’s lab. They share his grandest ambition – or is that obsession? – the unrelenting need to be ordinary. Behold The Visions!

Kusanagi, Mizuho. Yona of the Dawn, Volume 1. 2016. Illus. Viz Media. $9.99. 9781421587813. Spoiled Princess Yona's whole world falls apart when her father is murdered on the evening of her sixteenth birthday. Now she must fight to win back her kingdom with only her bodyguard Hak at her side.

Larson, Hope and Rebecca Mock. Compass South, Book 1: Four Points. 2016. Illus. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. $17.99. 9780374300432. Twins Cleo and Alex sail on pirate ships bound for San Francisco, chased by gang members determined to steal the compass and knife left to them by their missing father.

*Lemire, Jeff and Emi Lennox. Plutona. 2016. Illus. Image Comics. $16.99. 9781632156013. You've heard this before: five kids find a body in the woods and don't know what to do; but, this time it is the city's greatest superheroine, Plutona!

Leth, Kate and Matt Cummings. Power Up. 2016. Illus. Boom! Studios. $19.99. 9781608868377. In this "magical girl" style tale, an art school grad, a single mom, a construction worker, and a goldfish become unlikely heroes.

Liu, Marjorie and Sana Takeda. Monstress, Volume 1. 2016. Illus. Image Comics. $9.99. 9781632157096. In an alternate matriarchal Asia, a teenage girl struggles to survive the trauma of war and shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power.

Mignola, Mike and Troy Nixey. Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham. 2015. Illus. DC Comics. $16.99. 9781401258061. It’s Gotham City, 1928. Twenty years have passed since a madman slew the parents of young Bruce Wayne, heir to one of the city’s oldest fortunes. Twenty years since he fled the carnage of Gotham. But now Bruce Wayne has returned – and hell has followed.

Nogiri, Yoko. That Wolf-Boy is Mine! Volume 1. 2016. Illus. Kodansha Comics. $10.99. 9781632363732. When Komugi moves in with her estranged dad and starts a new school, she discovers that the "princes" are a lot more than they appear to be.

O’Neill, Katie. Princess Princess Ever After. 2016. Illus. Oni Press. $12.99. 9781620103401. Sadie and Amira, two very different princesses with very different strengths, journey to figure out what “happily ever after” really means – and how they can find it with each other.

Riess, Natalie. Space Battle Lunchtime, Volume 1: Lights, Camera, Snacktion! 2016. Illus. Oni Press. $12.99. 9781620103135. Does Earthling Peony really have what it takes to be the best cook in the Galaxy? Tune in and find out!

Runberg, Sywain and Miquel Montillo. Warship Jolly Roger. 2016. Illus. Magnetic Press. $19.99. 9781942367239. Escaped war criminal Jon Munro, along with three other prisoners, is on a mission to get revenge for the life and family that was taken from him.

*Russel, Mark, Ben Caldwell, and Mark Morales. Prez, Volume 1: Corndog in Chief. 2016. Illus. DC Comics. $14.99. 9781401259792. In a future where corporations can run for office, the poor are used as human billboards, and tacos are delivered by drone, 19-year-old social media celebrity, Beth Ross, unwittingly becomes President of the United States.

Ryall, Chris, Tony Akins, and Ilias Kyriazis. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency: The Interconnectedness of All Kings. 2016. Illus. IDW. $19.99. 9781631405082. Dirk has been forced to leave his beloved England behind, coming to the too-sunny, too-cheery, and altogether too-bizarre-even-for-Dirk city of San Diego, where he gets embroiled in three separate (or are they?) cases.

Seagle, Steven T. and Jason Adam Katzenstein. Camp Midnight. 2016. Illus. Image. $16.99. 9781632155559. Things are strange at Camp Midnight: the activities take place after dark and the campers are encouraged to let their "true" selves out. Can Skye make friends, keep her secret, and survive this monstrous camp?

Taylor, Tom and David Lopez. All-New Wolverine, Volume 1: The Four Sisters. 2016. Illus. Marvel Comics. $17.99. 9780785196525. Laura strives to become her own Wolverine as she encounters more mutants like herself.

Tobin, Paul and Coleen Coover. Bandette, Volume 3: The House of the Green Mask. 2016. Illus. Dark Horse. $14.99. 9781506702193. Master thief Bandette confronts villain Dart Petite after a string of kidnappings occur, all of which point to the location of the legendary House of the Green Mask.

*Vaughan, Brian K. and Cliff Chiang. Paper Girls 1. 2016. Illus. Image. $9.99. 9781632156747. In the early hours after Halloween 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time.

*Vaughan, Brian K., Steve Skroce, and Matt Hollingsworth. We Stand On Guard. 2016. Illus. Image. $24.99. 9781632157027. One hundred years in the future, Canada and the United States are at war and a small band of Canadian freedom fighters are all that stands in the way of total U.S. takeover.

Yasohachi, Ryo. Immortal Hounds, Volume 1. 2016. Illus. Vertical Comics. $12.95. 9781942993599. Humans never die; if they get sick or injured, they simply "kill" themselves and immediately come back to life. But then a mysterious disease starts spreading through the populace.

Zdarsky, Chip and Erica Henderson. Jughead, Volume 1. 2016. Illus. Archie Comics. $19.99. 9781627388931. After the menacing Mr. Stanger takes over Riverdale High, teachers get replaced, school uniforms are established, and the school cafeteria food gets swapped out for tasteless mush. Not one to stand for bad food, Jughead starts delving into Mr. Stanger's past in an effort to get rid of him and get his beloved burgers back.